What Was
by amenti3
Summary: The past as Ava and Boyd remember it. It isn't really Boyd and Ava getting together, but a recreation of their past. It can be considered a prequel to Monopoly or not.
1. Chapter 1

Justified ain't mine.

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><p>She had been twelve. Her hair had been long and in braids and she had worn a dress. The dress wasn't anything spectacularly pretty, just something that her momma had made with some fabric she'd found on sale at Wal-Mart but it was something that made her feel pretty. She wanted to look pretty today. She had rode her bike over by herself. She had thought maybe going with some other girls to make it less awkward, but the only other girl around was sick and she hadn't been in the mood to wait. She'd decided to go see if maybe he wanted to go bike riding. He had mentioned that he liked riding out in the woods, and she wanted to make herself seem a bit better than the other girls. The girls that didn't like going outside to play. So she had told him that maybe if she was bored on Saturday she'd come around and see if he wanted to bike riding with her. He had looked surprised, like maybe he didn't believe her, but he said sure.<p>

She had been riding up to his when she noticed a few trucks and such in his driveway. Well, she supposed it wasn't really his driveway but really his daddy's. She noticed two boys sitting on the porch. They were older. Probably fifteen or so, but they looked much older, as fifteen year olds are apt to look to twelve year olds. One of them was smoking and the other was laying back a bit, with his baseball hat covering his eyes. He looked like he was trying to sleep. She was pretty sure the one smoking was Bowman's older brother. They had the same eyes. He wasn't as cute though. The other boy, the other boy she liked right away. He had evidently heard her approaching, moved his hat from his eyes and gave her a small smile to acknowledge her presence. This boy was almost cuter than Bowman. He put his hat back over his eyes, and tried to go back to sleep. Bowman's brother didn't do anything. He kept smoking and looked at her. Didn't smile or anything. She thought maybe he was trying to scare her.

Well, she wasn't about to get scared, not after she had rode all this way. So she asked if Bowman was home, and his brother smirked. Asked if she was his little girlfriend. She told him no, but she turned red as a tomato. She decided right then and there she did not like Bowman's brother in the least. He laughed when he saw her blush. She felt like maybe she would cry. The boy in the hat told him off. Told Bowman's brother to stop being a jackass.

She felt herself grow even more red. The boy in the hat, he came to her rescue. She looked at him, and she knew she shouldn't have right away. Because Bowman's brother noticed, smirked, and he yelled for Bowman, shouting that he better hurry his ass down because Raylan was about to steal his little girlfriend away. Raylan. His name was Raylan. Raylan shoved Bowman's brother pretty hard, enough to make him fall, but he was still laughing. Raylan told him to stop picking on the kid. She was half-offended, half mortified, wanted to tell them both that she wasn't no kid, but she didn't have the nerve. If she hadn't been so embarrassed, she mighta spit on Bowman's brother though. She couldn't remember the last time she had been so embarrassed. She heard somebody running down the stairs, and in a few seconds Bowman came out the door. He smiled at her. A bit of shy smile and she smiled back. She felt better right away. She asked if he still wanted to come bike riding, and she heard Boyd ask if that was what the kids were calling it these days, and she blushed _again_, but so did Bowman, so she felt better.

His brother asked Bowman if he had forgotten his manners. Bowman looked annoyed but he turned around anyway. Made the introductions. His brother's name was Boyd. His brother's friends name was Raylan. And he told them that her name was Ava. Bowman looked at Boyd and asked if maybe he should bring his daddy and everyone else outside so they wouldn't think he forgot his manners either. Boyd stood up right away, and for a second she was terrified. Boyd was smiling, but it wasn't friendly. She saw Bowman tense, and she knew he was scared of his brother. But he wasn't pretending he wasn't. She thought maybe he was trying to be brave, for her. Raylan said Ava Gardner.

Everyone paused for a moment, looked confused. Whatever was just about to happen between Boyd and Bowman cooled. Everyone turned to face Raylan. Ava Gardner. He said it again. He asked if that was who she was named after. She told him yes. Boyd looked at her. Told she didn't look a thing like Ava Gardner. She was staring to get really annoyed at Boyd. She told him she knew, and it wasn't like she named herself, her daddy liked Ava Gardner, so she was called Ava. She said all of this with the attitude she normally possessed when she wasn't scared or embarrassed or confused, and both Boyd and Raylan looked at her. Raylan looked impressed, and Boyd just laughed, slapped Bowman on the back and told him he got one hell of a girl. And just like that, both Bowman and Ava turned red.

They got off the porch fast, and Bowman went to the shed to get his bike. And as the rode away, she glanced back and saw that Raylan was back to sleeping and Boyd was back to smoking and she thought while she wouldn't mind maybe talking to Raylan again, she'd be happy if she never spoke to Boyd. But then Bowman started telling her about this one kid in their class they both didn't like, and she thought about how cute Bowman was, and how he'd blushed when Boyd said she was his girlfriend, and she thought, maybe if she was really going to be Bowman's girlfriend, she could learn to tolerate Boyd.

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><p>Reviews would be lovely. If you want me to continue...drop a line.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Justified ain't mine.

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><p>There was a pattern of sorts in her dealings with Boyd Crowder. If Raylan or Bowman were around, she was almost positive that he would tease her. At first, she didn't understand why, but she realized that Boyd was just trying to get a rise out of them. Most of the time it worked. But for the most part, he ignored her. He really didn't give a damn about his kid brothers little girlfriend.<p>

Dating Bowman had been alright. Except lately. He'd started football and the team had Shelby Evans as the 'manager'. She hadn't really thought much of Shelby before, but lately she'd heard some of the older boys talking about Shelby was looking more and more like a girl. Bowman got along with Shelby real well.

This one day, they had gotten out of school early so she made her way over to Bowman's and he wasn't there. Boyd was. He was in the living room and moving some furniture around. She remembered Bowman had told her they were gonna be painting the living room that week. He saw her at the door and told her Bowman was at football practice. She told him there wasn't any practice today and Boyd swore and then laughed. Told her he must have lied to get out of helping paint. She stood around for a second not sure what to do. Bowman would probably be home soon but she didn't really want to be home alone with Boyd.

Boyd was back to ignoring her and continued shoving furniture to the middle of the living room. She walked to the surprisingly full bookshelf. She walked by it a lot but she never bothered to see what was there. She wondered who read. She knew Bowman didn't. He hated reading. Bowman's daddy didn't seem like the reading type and neither did Boyd. Maybe they were Bowman's momma's. Boyd interrupted her thoughts by asking if she read. She knew right away that these were his books. She was surprised. She knew she could get on his good side if she told him she read. But she didn't really care about getting in his good side that much. She told him the truth. She didn't mind it, but she really didn't go out of her way to read. He nodded. And then he said if she was gonna be in the house she might as well be useful.

He didn't really spare her. He had her do everything that he expected Bowman to do. She helped him move the rest of the furniture, roll up all the rugs, tape all the windows and the corners, lay out the plastic and then he had her paint. It was a companionable silence usually interrupted by Boyd issuing instructions.

The only time they took a break was when they had to move all the books from the bookshelf before they could book the bookshelf. Boyd found a book he hadn't seen in a while and he got excited. She asked what it was about, and for the first time in the year she had known him, she felt like maybe she could like him. He started explaining the book. She didn't understand what it was about but the basic idea seemed to be about a railroad company and money but he had told her the plot wasn't important. The _ideals _behind the book was what was important. He spent about a half an hour explaining the book to her with such enthusiasm, made it sound so interesting, she asked if maybe he wouldn't mind if she borrowed it. He told her sure and then they went back to work. It was probably the most comfortable she'd ever been with him.

She didn't mind working as long as Boyd stayed nice, but she began wondering where Bowman was. She'd been there a good two hours and the first coat of paint was about to dry and she knew he didn't have football practice. She wondered if maybe he went to wait on her at her house, but he usually told her if he planned on coming over. She asked Boyd if she was sure he said football. Boyd told her the that he had, and he'd seen that other girl that was the manager waiting for him on her bike. She felt her face go white and then red. Boyd seemed to understand what was going on and started laughing but stopped as soon as he saw that Ava had started crying. It was the first time she'd seen him startled.

It wasn't the loud sobbing kind of crying. It was the quiet tears of first heartbreak. Boyd was very, very startled. His home was male dominated. He understood teasing and ribbing and false bravado. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried. He couldn't remember the last time he had to deal with anyone crying, let alone a thirteen year old girl. His first instinct had been to leave the room, so he did. He went into the kitchen, but he could hear her sniffling and felt ridiculous about hiding in a kitchen to avoid a crying girl.

He brought her a glass of water. He patted her on the back awkwardly and for the first time in his life, he wished Raylan were around. Raylan was much better at dealing with people than he was. And as if on cue, maybe a gift from God he saw Raylan's car pull up. He had forgotten that Raylan was coming. Arlo and Boyd's daddy had gone out for the weekend and Raylan's mother had insisted that Boyd and Bowman come over for dinner. They had politely refused, but she had told them she was gonna make her fried chicken so the invitation was accepted. She had sent Raylan over to pick them up.

Raylan's first reaction in coming in the house, seeing Ava in tears was to ask Boyd what the hell he'd done this time. Boyd shrugged helplessly and told him that Bowman was out with Shelby, and when Raylan indicated he didn't know a Shelby, he motioned towards his chest and Ava saw Raylan give an almost imperceptible smirk. It set off another bout of tears. Raylan gave Boyd a look, one that said 'good going jackass'. Boyd gave him the finger and left the room. Raylan could deal with the weepy girl.

About ten minutes later, Boyd went back into the room and saw Raylan sitting next to Ava talking to her about one thing or another and she was smiling. He felt a pang of envy. He always thought that he and Raylan were similar. They understood people. They knew what made them tick. But Raylan used his talent to put people at ease, and Boyd, he did the opposite. He breathed a sigh of relief nonetheless. Crying girls made him terribly uncomfortable.

Raylan let him know they would be dropping off Ava at her home. Boyd nodded. As they walked out, Boyd grabbed the book they had been talking about and handed it to her. She whispered a quiet thank you and for a second he felt a little angry at Bowman. She was a nice kid. So what if Shelby had grown a bit more adult. Ava was a nice kid. He'd have a talk with Bowman later.

They dropped her off at her house. She broke up with Bowman the next day. And that was the end of that. She went on with middle school and then high school started and Bowman went on with his football and dating Shelby Evans and for the next two years she managed to avoid Bowman as much as she could in a small school. And while she thought of Raylan from time to time, the only time Boyd Crowder crossed her mind was when she saw the copy of Atlas Shrugged on her desk. She had never gotten around to reading it.

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><p>Reviews would be lovely. Thanks to RedBrunja!<p> 


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